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Air tools that blow.

06-15-2010, 02:31 PM

Ok, slightly misleading title but whatever.
Air tools that blow. Such as:

The air body saw. Maybe its that I got the $50 one, but this thing can't seem to cut anything, blade wears out after a few inchs of 18awg mild steel, seems to just rattle everything much more then cut it, and often the blade gets stuck in the material (Spring loaded return, only single acting air cylinder)
doesnt seem great on plastics or anything else iv tryed it on either (Unless you like those cuts where the plastic fuses in the cut behind the blade)

The cutoff tool. runs 2 or 3" cutoff disks at 20,000~ rpm. Overall seems like an OK tool, Really just a die grinder with a shield on it? I think again mine is rather cheap and sometimes won't start up till I rotate the disk a little and apply air again (just to get it out of the 'stall' position, I don't spin it up by hand or anything, just rotate it a little) Come to think of it, my cheap die grinder never requires that.
But.. often seems to stall out. Just.. not enough power unless you use really light feed pressure while cutting.

The air rachet. What a wonderful idea. What a poor implimentation. So bulky it rarely fits anywhere the impact gun would'nt, has only what, 50lbs torque max so you still have to torque the bolt manual afterwards, and only 200rpms?? I can use a hand rachet that fast praticaly. Im pertty sure I usally hand thread (unrusted) bolts in/out faster then 200rpm just using my fingers and no tool at all. Could be good for driving large screws in a tight area in a pinch..(Right angle driver) Except every time I try to do that, after the adapators needed it seems the rachet just rattles away insted of rotating properly.

Am I doing something wrong with these tools, or do they all just blow?

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I've got a Snap-On air ratchet that will snap the heads off of small bolts if you aren't careful with it. Likewise, my Ingersoll-Rand 3/4" impact gun will twist the wheel studs right off an axle if you happen to have it running in the wrong direction.

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You gotta have higher air pressure and volume. Many shops don't have the volume/pressure to run these. I got a couple you spoke of on the cheap from various garage sales. I've tested them on compressors that put out and it's night and day.
Here at home, I never use them...except the B&D impact wrench. That works good .

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I have some 10-12 air tools, all from -- gasp! -- Harbor Freight! and they all perform way better than the 10 to 30 dollars I paid for them. I have 4 of the little 10-15$ die grinders and run the tail off them - its just amazing for that money. I do run them on 120lbs pressure though...

If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something........

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More SCFM and more PSI. ALL of my air-tools are Tractor Supply brands.

This product has been determined by the state of California to cause permanent irreversible death. This statement may or may not be recognized as valid by all states.Heirs of an old war/that's what we've become Inheriting troubles I'm mentally numbPlastic Operators Dot Com

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First off, I have a 5hp compressor that outputs 140psi max, 18CFM. More then enough to run small sandblasters and air drills continiously.
I also have a 2hp 90psi max compressor, and it works fine for most tools as long as I watch the pressure and don't overuse the hungrey tools.

Second, I have no 1/4" air hoses in my shop, except some coily ones I sometimes use for my paint sprayer and never anything more air hungrey. Iv monitored pressure at the tool, its not the problem, usally 80psi+ and these tools still don't proform worth a damn.

All my other air tools kick serious ass. Wayyy more then they should for what iv paid for them. Die grinder, air nibbler, impact gun, paint sprayers, Air over hydrolic jack, Flanger/hole punch, sheet metal cutter, mini belt sander, all work wonderfuly, Lots of air tool oil before every use too.

Its just these 3 tools that just seem to suck, and im wondering if its the tool itself for being so cheap (My other cheap tools work WAYYYYYYY better), Or if its just the fact these tools are not very usable even when they are expensive ones, Or if im indeed using them wrong.

Like when do you really use an air rachet over other tools?

When do you really use a air body saw over other tools? (And what materials/thicknesses/blades?)

And when are those 3" cutoff tools any better then a 4 1/2" (electric) angle grinder? (For that matter, is there any point in an air 4 1/2" angle grinder if you have/love your expensive electric?)
Iv only ever managed to really want to use it once, and it was sad how underpowered it was. was cutting the copper ring off some pex (Err, well, whatever came before pex) and trying not to score the pex fiting itself (well.. scored it a little... man that plastic STUNK)

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i've been fixing and selling air tools for more than 25yrs. i have a die grinder thats that old that i paid 19bucks for back then. i use it quite often and have never even put vanes in it.. . i have 125 psi at my bench from a 1-1/4" copper line that runs 25 feet from my compressor. from there i have a couple of water traps, and then 3/8 coil hoses that drop from the ceiling. i oil all my air tools at the END of the day if i;ve used them. . . that way, any water will be sucked up by the tool oil. i have been doing this forever. i also have another 6 or 7 die grinders, some larger than others for dedicated tooling. a largeish florida pheumatic plastic bodied one for cut off wheels, and i use .062 cut offs, 4" diameter and they are GOOD "camel" discs. this tool has been doing this for 25 years too, and i have re-vaned it once. i threw away my hacksaw years ago.

others also have lasted a long time and are of good quality. moisture in your lines will cause tools to run like crap. and you must have 90psi AT THE INLET OF THE TOOL WHEN ITS RUNNING to get max effecency from it. more is better but probably not much over 125 psi or it will cause you to over load yout tool and it will not last as long.

my best "friend" is water, and my second best "friend" is under volumn'd air supplies. dirty air from a compressor thats sucking oil from its lube supply is a good buddy too. (keep those inlet air filters clean) helps me make a dang decent living. . . . . .

i often bring my gage set up to my customers shops and show them their volumn problems. i put the gage rite at the inlet of their tool. oh yea, they look and are impressed and know how to fix it but they would prefer to pay me to rebuild or repair their broken tools or sell them new ones. . . gotta love it.

however, i have good tools. the more expensive of the chicago pneumatic, ingersoll rand auto product and even a way over priced but a very good tool, damn nice snap on angle die grinder to name a couple. . there are "top cat" die grinders and angle grinders, and "henry air tools" that will nearly break your hand from the torque to name of few, but they are costly. . .origionally. last a long time tho. . . .

where was i . . . ?

i have not seen a air jackoff saw that works for crap. big ones like a sawzall but not the little ones. sold one once and it came back for the reasons you describe.

air ratchets have their place but i prefer a butterfly impact or a pistol grip inpact. they are much faster than a ratchet. then again, i use a 1/4" air ratchet for my center bolt on my bridgeport, aired down to about 35psi. i have also found a impacting 1/4" hex drive tool to be real handy for allen and torq;s bolts. . . .if you have the hexx tools for it, but thats my job. . . other have their favorites too.

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I place 2 drops of Automatic Transmission Fluid in any of my air tools prior to use. They are all different types Mac Snap on and chinese brands. I have zero problems with them. Lubricating a air tool prior to use is a Prerequisite PERIOD. Makes a big Difference indeed. Good Luck.

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I know about air tool basics, oily/dirty/etc air. Im asking mainly if these perticular tools are just poorly designed or if im using them wrong or if they just have perticular applications they shine at that im not seeing. For the record all my other air tools work wonderfuly, never a problem, just these 3 seem to not be worth the $50 I paid for the rachet/body saw each, and $20 I paid for the cutoff tool.

davidh at least confirmed that air body saws are worthless little buzzboxes, making his post the best so far...

Some people seem to be indicating that my 3" cutoff might just be a pos and that high end ones have decent torque.. but nothing really clear.

Not much mention if air rachets are any good, Except insted of a butterfly for a power drawbar.